This is learning the alphabet...REIMAGINED!!!!!
We saw this technique on Friends Art Lab. She made the cutest bunnies using this wet-on-wet technique & I immediately knew I wanted to use it for phonics instruction. It can be differentiated in SO many ways & combines a ton of important skills!
Materials needed:
Watercolor paper
Liquid watercolors
Sharpie
Water
Paintbrush
Pipette or medicine dropper
We tried this first with regular construction paper because we didn't have a watercolor pad. It did work but it didn't have the exact same effect. The watercolors puddled more & didn't dry as well. I found a watercolor pad at the Dollar Tree Store for $3!!!
How To:
Start by using your sharpie & drawing the letter that you are working on. You can make one large letter or a bunch of smaller ones.
You may want to put the paper inside a tray to catch the drips. You could also put it on top of scrap paper.
Next, use a paintbrush to fill the letter with water. You want to be generous with this part! The more water inside the letter, the better the swirls will be with the watercolors.
Once it is full of water, you can start making it colorful! We chose to use red, yellow & blue watercolor paints because they are primary colors. When they mix together, it would add another layer of instruction into our phonics lesson. They would be exploring color mixing & which combination create the secondary colors!
You can choose whatever colors you want! Squirt them out into a cup or bowl & use the pipette to begin dropping it onto the water.
Here’s why it is AMAZING:
⭐️While your kiddo brushes on the water they are working on letter formation & strengthening their muscle memory. They are making connections & activating their senses while they do!
⭐️As they drip & drop the watercolors onto the paper they are squeezing & smooshing the tiny finger muscles that they need to hold a pencil, zipper their coat & feed themselves!
⭐️While those colors drip they are reinforcing primary colors (red, yellow & blue) & learning how to create secondary colors! (Orange, green, purple)
⭐️Painting is know to help with self-regulation & can be so very calming!
We are touching upon SO many skills in one fun & engaging activity!
This is what it looks like when it dries!! SO pretty & unique every single time!
We created these on a tray & left them there to try. The liquid will puddle, depending on how much you use. Let it dry completely before moving.
Mixing art with learning is fun, exciting & engaging. Here are a few other ways to differentiate this activity for your learner!
Draw shapes with your sharpie & practice identifying their names, tracing & coloring them in!
Write letters on the paper. Call out a letter name or sound & have them identify it & color it in. You could also call out a word & have them identify the beginning sound & find it on the page! This would also be a super fun way to work on blending & segmenting CVC words!!
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